ISLAMABAD:
The National Assembly (NA) on Monday unanimously approved the 26th Constitution
Amendment Bill seeking an increase in the number of seats for the former
Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) in the NA and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Assembly.

The
bill was tabled by Mohsin Dawar – an independent member from tribal areas – and
288 Members National Assembly voted in favor of the bill while no MNA opposed
it.

It
was the first time in the Pakistan Parliament’s history that a bill presented
by an independent member was collectively approved both by the government as
well as the opposition.

After
the approval of the 26th Constitution Amendment Bill, the number of provincial
seats for former FATA has increased from 16 to 24.

Prime
Minister Imran Khan, while addressing the Lower House, expressed his
appreciation over the consensus between all parties on recommendations for the
bill.

Acknowledging
the provinces’ fears regarding the proposed distribution of 3 per cent of the
National Finance Commission (NFC) Award for provinces to ex-Fata, the prime
minister said: “The economic situation is bad and funds are not at the
level that they should be, but I think it is necessary because the kind of
destruction caused in Fata – due to the war against terrorism, the damage done
there – KP could never cover that damage from its own development fund.”

“The
whole nation is standing with the people of the tribal areas, and every
province will give three percent from National Finance Commission (NFC) Award
to the erstwhile FATA for ten years,” he said.

“A
big accident, the separation of East Pakistan, led to a sense of deprivation
among the people,” he said.

“All
of Pakistan should learn a lesson from that. No one should feel that Pakistan
does not own them, that they do not have a stake in Pakistan,” the prime
minister asserted.

“This
sense of deprivation is dangerous as it can be exploited by Pakistan’s enemies
and it is being exploited,” he cautioned. “Development should always
be inclusive. Areas that are left behind should also be brought up,” he
stated.

As
the prime minister concluded his speech, Speaker Asad Qaiser called for a vote
on the bill, and then on different sections of the bill.

The
session opened with the introduction by Makhdoom Samiul Hassan Gillani of a
Constitution Amendment Bill seeking the creation of a province for South
Punjab.

The
bill was supported by the PPP, while PML-N members stood on their seats to
register their opposition to the bill. It was finally approved due to an
abundance of opinions.

The
House also adopted a motion authorizing the NA speaker to form a special
committee comprising treasury and opposition members to examine the amendment
bill.

With
the passage of this bill, residents of ex-Fata will be represented in the
provincial assembly for the first time since their merger with KP was enabled
via the 25th Constitutional Amendment Bill passed on May 31, 2018, which was
the last day of the PML-N government.

Introduced
by Mohsin Dawar, an independent lawmaker from the tribal areas, the bill
increases the number of NA seats for ex-Fata representatives from six to 12,
and KP Assembly seats from 16 to 24. The bill also seeks four reserved seats
for women and one for minorities.

After
remaining at loggerheads for months, the treasury and the opposition members
were expected to jointly vote on the bill, after the Lower House went into
session following a two-day recess. This was the first constitutional amendment
approved by the present assembly.

The
coalition government led by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) wanted to get
the bill passed last week, soon after chairman of the house committee on law
and justice, Riaz Fatiana, delivered a presentation on a report regarding the
bill. It was, however, unsuccessful in ensuring its passage after the
opposition refused to vote without holding a thorough debate on the issue in
the NA.

The
opposition had also objected to the recommendations of the law and justice
committee report, which had suggested an increase of three NA seats instead of
six and four PA seats instead of eight.

Dawar
had agreed to the committee’s proposals after seeing the opposition to the bill
by the members of the ruling coalition, who were of the view that he was asking
for too much.

However,
sources said that when the present members of the assembly from the tribal
areas met the leadership of the opposition parties to seek their cooperation on
the bill, they were told to stick to their original bill seeking to almost
double their seats in the NA and the provincial assembly.

When
these members told the ruling party about the opposition’s offer, the ruling
PTI also agreed to the proposal for the sake of consensus.

Defence
Minister Pervez Khattak had last week said that the bill would help end the
sense of deprivation felt by the people of ex-Fata and allow them to take part
in Pakistan’s growth, as well as send a clear message that nobody would be
permitted to deprive them of their rights.

The
Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has already announced a schedule for the
election on 16 seats of the erstwhile Fata for the KP Assembly.

Mohsin
Dawar has said that under the Constitution, the elections in erstwhile Fata
areas for the provincial assembly seats are to be held by July 25 this year.
However, he said that he would also be moving an amendment seeking a six-month
extension in the deadline for holding of the elections.